2013/02/03 [DMFA #1375] - Is it still backstabbing if you know it's coming?

[RobbieThe1st]

Biggs definitely seems to be Genre Savvy(well, being the leader of the Twinks and all would suggest that, but).
I just wonder who's going to come out on top here here - Destania has the power, Biggs has knowledge and can avoid the common traps.

This is getting interesting!

[Pvblivs]

I don't know.  But I think that Dee is being careless here.  After all, there are also many beings and creatures who would like to see the end of Cyra's line as well

[Pvblivs]

Oh sure, you managed to hit post while I was still typing.

[Mao]

He also titled his properly.

[killpurakat]

While everyone else ponders the scary dramatics going on in the comic, I must point out:

I LOVE Biggs's taste in artwork (seen in the bottom panel). He must have comissioned a great artist for such elaborate artwork to hang in his office. 

(And for those who have no clue what I'm fangirling about: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8253598/)

[InsanityRequiem]

Gah, now three questions are popping in my head after this page!

1) Who is Des gonna go to as her plan B/C/etc?

2) Does Des really, really expect Abel to not have any sort of watchers keeping tabs?

3) And finally, what are Biggs big anti-backstab plans!?

[Pvblivs]

He also titled his properly.

Well, I tried.  Usually, there is already a post up and I don't think about the naming details.

[Nino]

Haha I love how Bigg's teasings are a reference to the strategies of RPG end-bosses.

[Tuyu]

Tsk...

Secret plotters should never EVAH hang a painting of a fae in the same room where they do their secret plotting.

I wonder whether Biggs means "suck for her" or "suck for me".

[Tapewolf]

I don't know.  But I think that Dee is being careless here.  After all, there are also many beings and creatures who would like to see the end of Cyra's line as well

Quite.   The only really interested party I can think of is Hizell, and there are far too many clues leading to Destania's own whereabouts to involve him.  AFAIK everyone else was mad at Aniz himself.  Maybe there's a clan or two that would like him gone, but Taun would not be pleased.
For that matter, Fa'Lina is liable to be pretty angry with Destania is she succeeds.

Finally, I'd have thought that the more terrible the death, the more likely Abel is to leak information that would kill her too.

EDIT:
I guess Abel is going to have to get in Pyroduck's good books for protection.  Might be easier now he knows he's Fa'Lina's friend.  Ultimately, I can only really see three outcomes:
1. Destania kills him
2. Someone else kills Destania first
3. Someone (Cyra, Dan) talks her out of it.

Either way, it's not an enviable position to be in.  But I imagine Abel is going to take precautions since he seems to have accurately guessed who was behind it, and he'll assume it's not the last attempt on his life.

[Naldru]

Oh sure, you managed to hit post while I was still typing.

Set up a text page with the start of the title correctly formatted.  (I guess the next one would be Re: 2013/02/07 [DMFA #1376] -)   You can then cut and paste for part of the post and get out faster.

Engineers are always looking for ways to make it better, stronger, faster.   

[justacritic]

Yes Dee but it's become a balance of those that want to end Siar's line, those who want to preserve it, and those who don't want Abel to die..

[icarus]

2) Does Des really, really expect Abel to not have any sort of watchers keeping tabs?

she might not. she waited until fa'lina's influence over abel wanned enough to get in a surprise strike, and to her knowledge that's likely the only person actively seeking to protect abel.

between abel's abrasive personality and tendency to remain as distant as possible from others, it's logical of destania to assume he hasn't got many friends - even if we readers know that assumption is incorrect. from her prior knowledge of abel there's only two or three people willing to protect him, and all three are bound to the academy and not supposed to leave (oolong, fa'lina and mink).

while it is possible she could have received information on abel at lost lake via cyra through dan, dan's perceptions of abel are also a bit....skewed.

on the off-chance that destania knew about kria and abel's history, she probably didn't expect kria to have re-found abel so swiftly. or for kria to have any influence in/around lost lake. or for kria to be in a position of power that, in spite of being busy, allows her to give abel a shadow on a moment's notice.

so it's entirely possible that no, destania did/does not expect abel to have anyone who will watch or defend him. and this lack of knowledge could easily be a combination of her previous perceptions of abel combined with a lack of intel in/around lost lake. she's attempting to attack abel based on outdated intel. the 'old' abel might have fallen in such an attack, but abel's been changing since he left the academy. that makes him difficult for old acquaintances (friend and foe alike) to predict.

and of course, we know now destania doesn't read the beach blunders issue.

[Tapewolf]

between abel's abrasive personality and tendency to remain as distant as possible from others, it's logical of destania to assume he hasn't got many friends - even if we readers know that assumption is incorrect. from her prior knowledge of abel there's only two or three people willing to protect him, and all three are bound to the academy and not supposed to leave (oolong, fa'lina and mink).

Interesting.  That may be Fa'Lina's plan, her reason to push Abel into developing friendships because she foresaw (i.e. reasoning, not precognition) that it would protect Abel.  In particular, Jyrras is at a point where he could overthrow the world order, and Dan is of course Destania's child.

EDIT:
Dan is still going to have an interesting conversation when he gets back, a'la
"Did anything happen to Alexsi...?"
"Your mother sent goons to kill her."

[Zebra Bug]

Biggs is made of Win for sure. And he certainly is under no illusions of his continued health. Hopefully he has contingency plans in place. (Or 10 or so...)

And wow. WOW. Destania....A LOT more want your clan dead, dear. But than....is Abel the only Siar Cubi alive? Boy needs to make some conversions. Him being basically asexual is not gonna make that a possibility anytime soon. But being a man he can go off and have lotsa babies and repopulate his clan. Just can't see him doing it though. He'd rather watch grass grow. And be a grump.

While everyone else ponders the scary dramatics going on in the comic, I must point out:

I LOVE Biggs's taste in artwork (seen in the bottom panel). He must have commissioned a great artist for such elaborate artwork to hang in his office.  

(And for those who have no clue what I'm fangirling about: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8253598/)

I saw that immediately myself and silently squeed. It is so pretty. Biggs has very good taste.  

and of course, we know now destania doesn't read the beach blunders issue.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Kria reads it.   But I suppose it does make sense...she was already keeping her eye on Jyrras at the time...so anything concerning him would be a priority.

between abel's abrasive personality and tendency to remain as distant as possible from others, it's logical of destania to assume he hasn't got many friends - even if we readers know that assumption is incorrect. from her prior knowledge of abel there's only two or three people willing to protect him, and all three are bound to the academy and not supposed to leave (oolong, fa'lina and mink).

Interesting.  That may be Fa'Lina's plan, her reason to push Abel into developing friendships because she foresaw (i.e. reasoning, not precognition) that it would protect Abel.  In particular, Jyrras is at a point where he could overthrow the world order, and Dan is of course Destania's child.

EDIT:
Dan is still going to have an interesting conversation when he gets back, a'la
"Did anything happen to Alexsi...?"
"Your mother sent goons to kill her."

Oof, yeah. Dan...will not take that well. He also won't believe Abel for a moment. He will so
be in denial. And be pissed in general. I don't know that they know that Alexsi was only meant to be possible collateral rather than the main target though. Not that it really matters I suppose, dead is still dead and BOB might have killed her instead of using the stun stone. And she would have had no chance.

[Tapewolf]

Oof, yeah. Dan...will not take that well. He also won't believe Abel for a moment. He will so
be in denial. And be pissed in general. I don't know that they know that Alexsi was only meant to be possible collateral rather than the main target though. Not that it really matters I suppose, dead is still dead and BOB might have killed her instead of using the stun stone. And she would have had no chance.

Oh, he might.  He was already acknowledging in SAIA that he comes from an unpopular clan, he's had Destania's treatise to read, Mink said to his face that he was scared because Dan was her son.  Even before that, Fi verified what Abel said before, and IIRC the reason Dan went charging off after Dee in the first place was to try and establish whether she was evil or not.

I'd be astonished if he didn't come away from his month at SAIA with at least a vague idea that his mother was up to no good.  It's quite likely that it will come out in the Clan Leader meeting.

[Zebra Bug]

Oh, he might.  He was already acknowledging in SAIA that he comes from an unpopular clan, he's had Destania's treatise to read, Mink said to his face that he was scared because Dan was her son.  Even before that, Fi verified what Abel said before, and IIRC the reason Dan went charging off after Dee in the first place was to try and establish whether she was evil or not.

I'd be astonished if he didn't come away from his month at SAIA with at least a vague idea that his mother was up to no good.  It's quite likely that it will come out in the Clan Leader meeting.

Ooh, THAT I am looking forward to as well. Wow. There is a LOT going on in the comic-verse right now...so many subplots. I love it.

So yes, Dan better put his tact-hat on during this Clan Leader meeting, and be careful about putting his foot in his mouth (As he so loves to do). He's not stupid, just biased and a little too quick to jump the gun. But Minky will keep him safe. 

[joshofspam]

Interesting use of foreshadowing for both Abel and Biggs.

Though Dee might not get Hizell involved, it sounded like all the big clans back in the day had many enemies. I remember the story Fa'lina told Abel about his clan mentioned some Allies help Hizell kill off most of Abel' clan.

It's very possible that those allies may still be loyal to the cause to this day. Not to mention, just because cubi are mindful to the rules at the academy on the grounds, doesn't mean that ones with grudges won't start throwing the hatchets once their off school campus.

We already know at least one clan doesn't attend the academy. Not like we know the real reason.

[Alondro]

*Charline de Lyon hmms*  Ya know, with Destania behaving in such a vicious, apathetic, sociopathic, KGB-like manner... people may start hating me less!

I've gotta bring out my A-game!   

[Mao]

While everyone else ponders the scary dramatics going on in the comic, I must point out:

I LOVE Biggs's taste in artwork (seen in the bottom panel). He must have comissioned a great artist for such elaborate artwork to hang in his office. 

(And for those who have no clue what I'm fangirling about: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8253598/)

ah, that one.  I commissioned that for my boss, actually.  I got him into DMFA and he started checking out all of Mab's stuff.  He came across the pandas and instantly fell in love with them.  When I was on my way off to AC, he handed me a $10 and asked for me to try and get a picture done of one of them dressed up Chinese style (his wife is Chinese).  I chuckled at him, told him to keep the 10  because it wouldn't come close to covering it and then proceeded to ask/beg Mab for that one.  She really hit it out of the park!  My boss loved it and was asking about getting a print made of it.  which reminds me, I need to get around to that...

[MT Hazard]

I think Dee is well overdue a visit from her mother. I do wonder if its possible to remove a clan member form the clan, she'd still have one member left and this one is significantly less likely to indulge in petty revenge and genocide.

Oh and in case the world and her dog hasn't seen it yet: Abel in the background of another webcomic

[Lying Foo]

It's possible, I expect, just makes a bit of a mess.

[MUDPUNISHER]

Oh look, found the punchline!

[Prroul]

That which is foreseen can be planned for. Considering the amount of resources at Biggs's disposal... yea, it's gonna suuuuuck... but he's already probably got contingency plans for most of the obvious methods. And every time she tries something more ornate and Machiavellian, it's just another data point for Biggs's analysis.

[Zebra Bug]

Oh and in case the world and her dog hasn't seen it yet: Abel in the background of another webcomic

Huh, looks like Usagi Yojimbo  back there too. Awesome.

EDIT: What is with the Vampire Angel, Popstar Werewolf thing I'm seeing above people's pics? And the 'I Blame Mel' thing?

[Lego3400]

Oh and in case the world and her dog hasn't seen it yet: Abel in the background of another webcomic

Huh, looks like Usagi Yojimbo  back there too. Awesome.

EDIT: What is with the Vampire Angel, Popstar Werewolf thing I'm seeing above people's pics? And the 'I Blame Mel' thing?

Looks like one of the forum staff was having fun with the user Karma/rateing interface again. My favorite was when it said Karma Chameleon, Come/Go

[Zebra Bug]

Oh and in case the world and her dog hasn't seen it yet: Abel in the background of another webcomic

Huh, looks like Usagi Yojimbo  back there too. Awesome.

EDIT: What is with the Vampire Angel, Popstar Werewolf thing I'm seeing above people's pics? And the 'I Blame Mel' thing?

Looks like one of the forum staff was having fun with the user Karma/rateing interface again. My favorite was when it said Karma Chameleon, Come/Go

Ok, makes sense. I was just curious. So...how do you get karma? What happens if you get a certain amount? Like....-10, -50?

[Lying Foo]

People click the buttons under your name.  Whatever they say, left is left and right is right.  (It used to be "applaud" was - and "smite" was +.)  It does absolutely nothing.

[Zebra Bug]

People click the buttons under your name.  Whatever they say, left is left and right is right.  (It used to be "applaud" was - and "smite" was +.)  It does absolutely nothing.

Oooh. Ok, thanks. 

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Ok, makes sense. I was just curious. So...how do you get karma? What happens if you get a certain amount? Like....-10, -50?

Ask Darkmoon.